Clone Trooper To Stormtrooper [Version 2] - ROTS - Evolutions

Name: Clone Trooper To Stormtrooper [Version 2]Collection: Revenge Of The SithNumber: N/A (Evolutions)Source: Attack Of The Clones/Revenge Of The Sith/A New HopeAvailability: August 2005License: Hasbro

The evolution of the galaxy's most powerful army is captured in these figures! The clone troopers fight for the Republic, to try and save the galaxy from chaos. But secret plans change their loyalties, and they help the evil forces of the Sith to take control! No longer known as clone troopers, they are now stormtroopers, the loyal soldiers of the Emperor, enforcing his harsh will throughout the galaxy!

What better way to make collectors happy and amortize tooling costs by adding a quick running change to three all-new sculpts in the popular Evolutions line? That’s exactly what Hasbro did with the Clone Trooper To Stormtrooper [Version 2] Evolutions set. Collectors can never get enough of clones, stormtroopers and sandtroopers, so what better way to gibe us three premium versions of these characters all at once? Easily killing two birds with one stone, Hasbro could have rereleased the Clone Trooper To Stormtrooper set a few more times to make the most out of these gorgeous sculpts, but they decided on two and did them both very, very well. It definitely depends upon who you ask, but many collectors found the second version of this Evolutions set much more interesting and attractive, and quite frankly we feel similarly. While we love the visage of an orange pauldron on a sandtrooper, Hasbro gave a little bit more effort in the second variation of this Evolutions release . Not only does this set give collectors more permutations of unique characters for their collections, Hasbro very slyly added an Expanded Universe take on a phase II clone commander (or maybe just off-screen enough to miss) from Coruscant. And this figure has become one of our favorites. But it’s more because of the “hidden” feature it comes with and we’ll get to this more in a moment. But the goodness in this set doesn’t stop or begin there. Let’s go through why you need this set!

It’s hard to ignore the brilliantly decorated generic white Clone Trooper (The Clone Wars) figure in this set. This figure alone gives you the option to “create” three movie specific clones in and of itself. Besides the generic phase I clone, you can take the helmet from the Clone Trooper (The Fall of The Republic) and place it on him and you have an instant phase II “all white” Clone Trooper. We say “all white” in quotes because as you know this figure has an amazing paint job and is covered in red Geonosis dirt and have more smears and smudges that you’d expect on a Hasbro action figure. The figures in the Evolutions series have mind-blowing paint jobs. Hasbro has never treated figures better than this. Lastly, you can convert the Clone Trooper (The Clone Wars) figure by removing the phase I helmet and placing the “clone pilot” helmet on him and you have a movie accurate Clone Pilot right out of Attack Of The Clones. How amazing is this? The Clone Trooper (The Fall of The Republic) also has some interchangeability! It comes packaged as a “clone commander” but you can remove his pauldron, kama and add the included gray belt and create a 41st Elite Corps Clone Trooper, also know as Coruscant Landing Platform clone troopers. These are the clones that are scene surrounding an arriving Republic Gunship in Revenge Of The Sith. What’s incredible about this flexibility is that they are updates to the figures included in 2005’s ROTS Clone Attack On Coruscant Battle Packs set. You know have brilliantly painted/super-articulated versions of the gray color-flashed clones! (Editor's Note: Hasbro alos released another super-articulated figure of this character as 2008's TLC Clone Trooper (Coruscant Landing Platform) (BD 17).)

The last figure in this set is the Stormtrooper (The Rebellion). Why Hasbro has decided to refer to sandtroopers as stormtroopers here escapes us, but as long as the figure is good we really don’t care too much what the packaging says. (Or maybe we do if we made a point of saying that!) The sandtrooper figure in this set is absolutely the filthiest your collection will ever see. We would bet our own collections on that. We have never seen more dirt, (mud?), grit, grime and whatever else is on there than on this figure. While none of the sandtroopers in A New Hope appear this dirty, we have to admit it looks rather cool and we’re thrilled what Hasbro did with it. The paint operations on this figure must have cost them an arm and a leg, but it’s was totally worth it. The only issue is that this figure won’t fit in believably with the rest of your sandtrooper ranks. Hasbro changed things up not only in the paint job department, but they also gave this Stormtrooper (The Rebellion) figure a new officer ranking pauldron – this time a sergeant. This is the character famous for saying “look sir, droids”. In a surprising move, Hasbro made the belt on this figure removable. This isn’t the case on the squad leader from theClone Trooper To Stormtrooper [Version 1]Evolutions set. Interesting, no? The Clone Trooper To Stormtrooper [Version 2] set is excellent and we love it a bit more than the first set. You’ll have to decide for yourself, but we’d suggest getting both to be safe. This is a line where you want to have no regrets. Please believe us.

Collector Notes

Clone Trooper To Stormtrooper [Version 2]

Clone Trooper (The Clone Wars)

Status: Clone Trooper (The Clone Wars) is a rework of the Clone Trooper (The Clone Wars) figure from 2005's ROTSClone Trooper To Stormtrooper [Version 1] Evolutions set. The helmet from the Clone Trooper (The Fall Of The Republic figure) can be added to this figure to make a plain white phase II clone trooper.

Clone Trooper (The Fall Of The Republic)

Status: Clone Trooper (The Fall Of The Republic) is a rework of the Clone Trooper (The Fall Of The Republic) figure from 2005's ROTS Clone Trooper To Stormtrooper [Version 1]Evolutions set. The figure's pauldron and kama can be removed and replaced with a removable belt to make a 41st Elite Corps [Coruscant Landing Platform] Clone Trooper.

Stormtrooper (The Rebellion)

Status: Stormtrooper (The Rebellion) is a rework of the Stormtrooper (The Rebellion) figure from 2005's ROTSClone Trooper To Stormtrooper [Version 1] Evolutions set. This character is also known as a Sandtrooper Sergeant.